Research methods Flashcards
marketing research=
information gathered from the market for specific of decision making
market research planning
links to the idea that marketing research is done with a plan and according to an objective, not just done for the sake of it
the planning diagram: information required
(a statement) the information you need to satisfy the marketing research objective
the planning diagram: methodology
(a wide range) choose the methodology that provides the information that satisfies the objective
the planning diagram: timing
deadlines and schedules are important, timing can sometimes influence methodologies
the planning diagram: decision
a series of statements (if the research reveals A we will do X), this is a test of the entire plan, a good way of testing the precision of the data needed
the Three dimensions of marketing research types
desk vs. field
Ad hoc vs. off the peg
quantitative vs. qualitative
desk research=
also called secondary research, sometimes categorised as a specific type of ‘off the peg’ research.
information requirements are satisfied, or partly satisfied, from open/published sources (already exists)
typical sources of desk research
government statistics; newspapers, magazines, TV, radio (e..g NEXUS); Trade press (magazines specific to particular industries); academic research
advantages of desk research
fast, cheap, large sample or even census
disadvantages of desk research
not confidential, may not be exactly what you required, may be old/out of date, source may be unreliable
field research=
also called primary research. obtained direct from the market: surveys, observations, experimentation, focus groups.
you create the information yourself rather than relying on somebody else’s research
advantages of field research
greater confidentiality: may learn something competitors don’t know; exactly what you require; up to date (as much as the methodology allows)
disadvantages of field research
slower and more expensive; need to reduce sample size and research scope to make faster and cheaper, or reduce number fo objectives
Desk and Field research
marketers may simultaneously or sequentially use both techniques in advanced, complex marketing (desk then field)
Ad Hoc methodology
sometimes called ‘tailor made research’.
research carried out for the specific demands of one client, for a specific purpose. everything done step by step
advantages of Ad Hoc research
confidential: competitors don’t have your data; specific: exactly what you require
disadvantages of Ad Hoc research
slow: research doesn’t start till objective is defined; expensive: you pay the whole cost; reduce sample and limit scope to make it faster and cheaper
‘Off the Peg’
also called continuous or syndicated research, sometimes classified as secondary research (a specific type of desk research).
Data is collected continuously by specialist market research agencies, who then look for customers
‘off the peg’ sources available
Euromonitor passport; key note; ABI; EBSCO Business source; Nexis
advantages of ‘off the peg’ research
fast: basically waiting to be bought; extremely up to date (a key distinction between desk and ‘off the peg’ research; cheap, larger sample, wider scope: costs spread over many buyers; longitudinal analysis
disadvantages of ‘off the peg’ research
not confidential; may not be specific to your objectives: fairly general data collected so that research agency is able to sell it to a wide range of customers
quantitative marketing research
numbers of customers
qualitative marketing research
things unable to be expressed in numbers (e.g. why does the customer buy this product?)
Quantitative sample
large
qualitative sample
small
quantitative customer
treated at aggregate level (due to large volume of Ups: individually insignificant)
qualitative customer
treated at individual level
quantitative questions:
short and simple
qualitative questions:
long discussions
quantitative data collection
highly structured (aggregating thousands of small numbers: requires structure/identical data collection)
qualitative data collection
unstructured (free flowing, open ended discussion as data is not aggregated)
quantitative interviewer
low skill: given a script to follow
qualitative interviewer
high skill: requires ability to control a free-flowing discussion and interpret data in interviews etc
quantitative analysis
maths, statistics
qualitative analysis
psychology
quantitative information
objective
qualitative information
subjective
quantitative cost
cheap
qualitative cost
qualitative cost
expensive: takes longer, with highly skilled interviewer
quantitative conclusion
who, when, where, how much, how often
qualitative conclusion
why
focus group raw data
the focus group leader will look for what is said, what is not said, non-verbal communication
focus group discussion will involve
devil’s advocate, hypotheticals, projection, bubble drawings, brand personality, acting and role play
field research methodologies examples
examples
focus groups, questionnaires, telephone survey, mail survey, personal survey
a focus group involves…
a skilled researcher having a discussion with a group of people, usually video recorded lasting 1-12 hours
focus group raw data:
leader will look for what is said or not said and non-verbal communication
the leader of the focus group will need to..
control the discussion
how does the leader control the discussion of a focus group?
- devil’s advocate
- hypotheticals
- projection
- bubble drawings
- brand personality
- acting and role play (most extreme)
online focus groups
becoming increasing popular: faster and cheaper, but fewer PPs
Questionnaires are…
a type of survey
questions in a questionnaire…
are different from the questions you want to know the answers to
principles of questionnaire design
clear questions from respondents view / avoid jargon
- avoid leading questions
- avoid loaded questions
- allow full range of responses
- allow room to respond
- avoid strings questions
- careful with personal/sensitive matters
- avoid old/obscure facts
examples of non-neutral language
- created by MPs/established in law
- terrorist / freedom fighter
- migrant/refugee
- government money/tax payers’ money
- hike/increase
- slash/ cut or reduce
- pander to the market / serve customers
a telephone survey involves…
setting up the questionnaire on the computer system, then the interviewer reads out questions to the PP and types in the responses
advantages of telephone surveys
- cheap (all employees in one place)
- very fast (can get several hundred responses in a few hours)
- pretty good response rate
- question can be explained or rephrased
- controllable: interviewers can be monitored
- gets otherwise hard to reach samples
disadvantages of telephone surveys
- no props or visual aids
- questionnaires usually have to be short
- some bias: towards telephone owners (become a problem again as less people have landlines)
mail survey involves…
a questionnaire delivered on paper by mail, ‘door drop’ or magazine. PPs chosen at random or using a database, respondent returns by post
advantages of mail survey
cheap: no employees
- allows for long questionnaires
- props/visual aids can be enclosed
- gets otherwise hard to reach samples
- no interviewer bias/effects
disadvantages of mail survey
- slow response: likely to take weeks
- low response: bribes can improve
- non-response bias
- questions must be especially clear since they cannot be explained
personal surveys involve…
personal surveys involve…
a respondent questioned face-to-face (door to door, street interview, by appointment by random sampling, database or quota)
advantages of personal surveys
high response
- can be long: depends on circumstances
- props/visual aids possible
- questions can be explained/rephrased
disadvantages of personal surveys
- expensive: interviewers payment and expenses
- often biased towards easy to reach samples (urban areas / SE England)
- low control: sampling bias, fraudulent responses
